Content Creation Best Practices & The Problem With Editorial Calendars

As of 2015, 89% of content marketers are focused on creating more engaging, higher quality content currently or within the next 12 months. And while intentions seem promising, prospects don't look too good. Two-thirds of content marketers admit that they either don’t have a strategy or that their plans live in a separate, stand-alone document (a.k.a. an Editorial Calendar). It’s a content crisis! That was the genesis of Jack Morton’s March 15, 2015 SXSW Interactive Workshop: “Why Editorial Calendars Make Your Content SUCK.”

In this presentation, a distinction is drawn between use of Editorial Calendars for content organization (which is a great use of the tool) versus content creation (which can lead to content that is not-so-great). Three alternative means of content creation and ideation are suggested: 1) consumer-inspired; 2) data-driven; and 3) conversation-led. Examples of content that fell short and content that soared are also provided in order to move marketers beyond thinking inside editorial boxes so that they can do something extraordinary.

14 15 16 T H
E E D I T O R I A L C A L E N D A R Often a spreadsheet, calendar, or digital tool ... ... that ensures a constant flow of content is being posted to digital channels.

14 15 T H E
E D I T O R I A L C A L E N D A R Often a spreadsheet, calendar, or digital tool ... ... that ensures a constant flow of content is being posted to digital channels. Many times they focus on dates, topics, headlines, authors, owners, content status and categories.

Editorial Calendars* can put an
undue emphasis on filling in blanks, rather than accomplishing business objectives and resonating with audiences. Some organizations appropriately, use Editorial Calendars to capture much more than the basics, including objectives, metrics and strategic guidance. *

One other risk: The practice
of optimizing at a granular, surface level (on a per-post basis). — This leads brands to create shallow, widely appealing content simply to achieve positive engagement rates (lots of likes, comments and shares). In so doing, they can lose sight of the brand’s larger objectives.

“The idea was always to
find a way to have the fans lead the conversation about the brand, and the brand to enable it, rather than the top down approach of the brand publishing a message to reach its fans.” – Tessa Barrera Red Bull Former Global Head of Social Media

“Red Bull does not focus
on what they sell, they focus on who they are: a company that brings excitement to its advocates. Isn’t that what an energy drink does? Why not focus on it?” – Tessa Barrera Red Bull Former Global Head of Social Media

1 2 What is my
customer’s lifecycle? What are the appropriate times for content to play a role? Ask three questions D A T A - D R I V E N

1 2 3 What is
my customer’s lifecycle? What are the appropriate times for content to play a role? How can I use the digital and offline body language of my audience to personalize their content experiences? Ask three questions D A T A - D R I V E N

What is my customer’s lifecycle?
1 The right place for content varies significantly by category and brand. “We do not need to be slaves to the data. We should use data to inspire us and our teams. We want to use data as a starting point and a way to validate, but we don’t want to use data to replace decision making.” – Dr. Laura Granka UX Manager Google

What are the appropriate times
for content to play a role? 2 Context + Content Intent “It’s about combining compelling stories and predictable output and results. Marketing has increased its contribution to the pipeline by 120%.” – Claudia Hoeffner Sr. Director, Demand Generation & Channel Strategy Acquia

How can I use the
digital and offline body language of my audience to personalize their content experiences? 3 of marketers say they take a sophisticated approach to measuring content performance against customer segments. Forrester 12%

“We use data and analytics
to measure trends and engagement across all of our channels because it keeps us informed as to what works best.” – Lee Nadler Marketing Communications Manager MINI USA

MINI Lost & Found •
New items every two months • Partnerships with premium brands • Quality lead capture from unique sources • Data-driven follow-up

“We have a number of
programs we use to measure this information and that shapes some of our thinking in terms of where we focus our attention, how we want to target our audience, and what we need to consider when building out a strategy.” – Lee Nadler Marketing Communications Manager MINI USA

1 Does my brand have
permission to play in this conversation? C O N V E R S A T I O N - L E D Ask three questions

1 2 Does my brand
have permission to play in this conversation? Will the brand’s presence in a conversation add value or noise? C O N V E R S A T I O N - L E D Ask three questions

1 2 3 Does my
brand have permission to play in this conversation? Will the brand’s presence in a conversation add value or noise? Should I start a new conversation, or join an existing one? C O N V E R S A T I O N - L E D Ask three questions

Does my brand have permission
to play in this conversation?1 Think less about what to post next and more about what to do next that’s worth posting.

Should I start a new
conversation or join an existing one? 3 Be on the way, not in the way. Royal Bank of Scotland placed mortgage calculator tool directly into a popular site for house hunters. It was the perfect example of a sought-after content utility in a specific context that drove business outcomes. RBS recorded thousands of leads that generated business from the tactic. Forrester

Because baseball fans in particular
love accessing stats, replays and live feeds during games, T-Mobile has worked to deliver the best possible network experience to ballparks across the country. – T-Mobile

Be on the way, not
in the way. “T-Mobile and Major League Baseball chose ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ as the theme of the tribute to the game because it is such a quintessential part of every ballpark experience. [It is] the third most frequently sung song in America behind only ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ and ‘Happy Birthday to You.’” – T-Mobile

Example: Coca-Cola’s Open Happiness 3
words: Delightfully Surprising Moments 2 sentences: To deliver on Coca-Cola’s promise of happiness, the brand will surprise consumers in delightful ways when they’re least expecting it. A series of stunts, witnessed by few, but then experienced by many online will constitute share-able content that brings the brand’s positioning to life. 1 paragraph: While Coca-Cola is at the center of culturally iconic moments, some functional brand elements can be mundane: vending machines, delivery trucks and bottle disposal. These moments lend themselves to delightful surprises that literally open moments of happiness at the point of interaction with the brand. As these moments are created, they’ll be captured as digital assets and told in compelling, share-able ways that are native to social platforms. By passing them along, consumers will have the opportunity to share their happiness with their friends.